Tuesday, 28 October 2014

On Saturday morning, Royal Ballet staff, dance lovers and Wikipedia
enthusiasts gathered in the Royal Opera House amphitheatre restaurant to update
information about Kenneth MacMillan on Wikipedia.

I added background information and open night casting to the
entry about Manon, but the
editathon highlight was hearing from Monica Mason, who created many MacMillan
roles, and Jann Parry, who wrote the choreographer’s biography.

Parry highlighted the key themes in MacMillan’s choreography, including claustrophobic family life, loss of innocence, physical infatuation and being a social outcast. Mason described MacMillan’s passion for new interpretations, repeating his words that ballets need to be “recreated rather than repeated” and emphasising his warmth and genius.

Sunday, 26 October 2014

In the latest instalment of my ballet steps series, I look at the basic ballet positions of the feet, which are fundamental both for technique and choreography.

In 1st position, the heels are placed together with the toes pointing outwards, usually forming a ‘v’ shape. If a dancer has particularly good turn out, the feet may be in a straight line, but this should not be forced unless the hips can maintain the position without overly stressing the rest of the legs. In certain ballet styles, the heels may be placed slightly apart, especially if the dancer has swayback knees.

2nd position is like a wide 1st position with feet apart. To form 2nd, the dancer needs to stand in 1st, point one foot to the side, and then lower the heel of the pointed foot. This gives the correct distance between the feet for most uses of 2nd position, although a slightly smaller gap is common when doing pointe work. The distance is approximately one and a half times the length of the dancer's foot.

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4th position also involves feet that are apart, but this
time with one in front of the other. There are two variations – open 4th, where
the edge of the front heel is in alignment with the edge of the back heel
(appearing like 1st position from the front), and closed 4th, where the front
heel is in alignment with the toe of the back foot (appearing like 5th position
from the front). Grand pliés change according to whether the open or closed
position is used – the heels stay on the floor in the former, but lift in the
latter. The gap between the feet is also typically smaller - equivalent to the
length of one of the dancer's feet - in closed 4th. The picture to the left
shows a very wide 4th position on pointe.

5th position involves placing one foot in front of the
other, such that the legs are ‘crossed’ with the heel of one foot in line with
the toe of the other foot. It’s a particularly useful position because the body
weight is centralised, such that the centre of gravity does not have to be
shifted when one leg is lifted.

3rd and 5th positions

3rd position is rarely used in professional ballet and is
instead a training position for young students. It is like 5th position, but
the front heel is aligned with the arch – rather than toe – of the back foot.

There are several potential problems in all positions of the
feet. Weight is often incorrectly placed, such that it is not distributed
evenly between and across the feet. Forcing the feet to turn out excessively is
problematic and results in misalignment in the knees as well as ‘rolling’,
where the feet rock forward rather than staying flat on the floor. In the wide
positions (4th and 2nd), it can also be tricky to get the distance between the
feet correct.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

﻿﻿Scènes de Ballet/ Five Brahms Waltzes in the manner of Isadora Duncan/ Symphonic Variations / A Month in the Country, Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House - reviewed on 22nd October

﻿﻿﻿﻿

The Royal Ballet’s Frederick Ashton quadruple bill is mixed
in quality. The rapid footwork and geometric shapes of Scènes de Ballet and Symphonic
Variations feel under rehearsed, but the evening’s other two works delight.

In Five Brahms Waltzes
in the manner of Isadora Duncan, Romany Pajdak gives a confident and
engaging performance as the title dancer. But it is the beautiful choreography,
evocative Chopin music and well-considered interpretations of A Month in the Country that please most.
Natalia Osipova excels as the unfulfilled housewife, dancing an exquisite duet
with lover Federico Bonelli. Francesca Hayward also impresses as Osipova’s daughter.
It’s heart-breaking that the characters don’t get a happy ending.

Sunday, 19 October 2014

La Fin du Jour/ Miracle in the Gorbals/ Flowers of the Forest, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sadler's Wells - reviewed on 17th October

Nao Sakuma and Jamie Bond in
La Fin du Jour
Photo: Roy Smiljanic

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Shadows of War is a real contrast to its fairy tale Beauty and the Beast performed earlier
in the week. The triple bill’s links to war are tenuous, but its range of
emotion – from elation to despair – is captivating.

Kenneth MacMillan’s La
Fin du Jour opens the evening. Bursting in through a door at the back of
the stage, a group of enthusiastic young people enjoy swimming, flirting and
dancing. Set to a score by Maurice Ravel and led by Yvette Knight, Tyrone
Singleton, Céline Gittens and
Brandon Lawrence, the ballet is filled with joy and exuberance. Only right at the
end does the impending war become clear when the onstage door is closed and
dancers freeze as the lights go down.

The bill’s weakest work, David Bintley’s Scottish-themed Flowers of the Forest, ends the performance.
Commencing with a playful and humorous section for four dancers in tartan, the
ballet quickly becomes tiresome in the later, more sombre group numbers.

Sandwiched between these two works is Gillian Lynne’s
reconstruction of Robert Helpmann's 1944 Miracle
in the Gorbals. Set in the slums of Glasgow and with evocative designs
(including high windows with skeletal figures looking out) by Adam Wiltshire
(after Edward Burra), the ballet’s setting and narrative bear more than a
passing resemblance to MacMillan’s The Judas
Tree.

﻿﻿

Amidst the busy crowds of lovers, shopkeepers and beggars, a
girl – performed beautifully by Delia Matthews – dances a desperate solo before
deciding to commit suicide. As her body is brought up from the river, desolate crowds
gather until a mysterious Stranger (César
Morales) emerges and is able – miraculously – to bring her back to life. Horrified
at being outshone, the Minister (Iain Mackay) attempts unsuccessfully to humiliate
the Stranger and finally – through the actions of a local gang – kills him.

﻿

Delia Mathews and Iain Mackay in Miracle in the Gorbals
Photo: Roy Smiljanic

﻿

What struck me most about the ballet was how well it was
able to convey its characters’ self-loathing. Both the Suicide and the Minister
are driven to violence by their self-hatred and lack of others’ approval. I was
also impressed by the way in which the very simple choreography was performed
by BRB’s dancers to create such a clear and compelling narrative.

Miracle in the Gorbals
is a real gem, and it’s wonderful that Gillian Lynne has brought it back to
life (just as the Stranger does with the Suicide). It was certainly the highlight
of the Shadows of War bill and is a
testament to the talents of Birmingham Royal Ballet – not only in performing it
so effectively onstage but also in commissioning and realising its
reincarnation.

Saturday, 4 October 2014

The Five & the Prophecy of Prana, Boy Blue Entertainment, Barbican Theatre - reviewed on 2nd October

Boy Blue Entertainment is a skilled hip hop dance company, but
only glimmers of its dancers’ talent are shown in The Five & the Prophecy of Prana.

In Japanese comic book style and with a frivolous good vs
evil narrative, cast members mouth the words of a voiceover and engage in
numerous martial arts-style fights. The highlight is Sander Loonen's set with projections
and large moveable blocks that convincingly combine to form all manner of
objects from beds to sinks. The rest of the show quickly becomes tiring and I
found myself longing for something more similar to Some Like it Hip Hop, where unadulterated dance is at the
forefront.

Thursday, 2 October 2014

Deaf Men Dancing had to change name for its bill at the Lilian Baylis Studio. With its first female dancer (Natasha Volley), the company was retitled DMD+, though its choreography remained in artistic director Mark Smith's inimitable style.

The afternoon's first work, Hear! Hear!, explored the choreographer's personal experience of deafness. "People ask how I can hear the music and I wanted to show this" explained Smith in the post-show talk. "I wanted the hearing audience to experience what sound is like for me."

In Hear! Hear!'s opening number, dancers wore old-fashioned hearing aid boxes strapped to their chests. Later, a voiceover read out two very different poems, both written in response to an image of a child having his hearing tested. One writer highlighted the child's rescue from a "soundless vice", whilst the other focused on his bewilderment and desire for familiarity. Whilst the work didn't give me the depth of understanding Smith intended, it did prompt me to question and re-evaluate my understanding of deafness.

The afternoon's second work, Rosa, was inspired by Shakespeare's As You Like It. It featured four dancers, representing lust, confusion, anger and love, all vying for the title character's attentions. Interestingly, Michael England's accompanying score was composed in response to Smith's hearing test graphic chart.

The afternoon's choreography combined sign language with ballet and contemporary dance. Performed by DMD+ company members, who come from very different training backgrounds including commercial and hip hop, individual personalities shone but technical weaknesses were exposed.

I was underwhelmed by some of the afternoon's dance content, but DMD+'s programme and especially its post-show talk - with dancers explaining how they hear different frequencies of music - provided interesting food for thought about dance and deafness.